GSEs:
LS4 (7-8)-11 Students demonstrate an understanding of human heredity by 11a- recognizing that characteristics of an organism result from inherited traits of one or more genes from the parents and others results from interactions with the environment. 11c- identifying that genetic material (i.e. chromosomes and genes) is located in the cell's nucleus.
Context for the Lesson:
The students will have previously gone through the process of mitosis and this lesson will build on that prior knowledge. They will be able to physically see the alleles that make up the chromosome for the male and female cells from the end of mitosis and compare these with the sex cells that are the result of meiosis. The main difference is the fact that the sex cells have ½ the number of chromosomes as the original cell for both the female egg and the male sperm. This lesson will be the introduction to the concept of an allele and will reinforce the concepts of homozygous and heterozygous, dominant and recessive genes. This lesson will take a full 90 minute class period.
Opportunities to Learn:
The desks will be arranged in pairs for this lesson. The pairs will be pre-assigned and heterogeneously grouped.
Differentiated instruction
This lesson involved a great deal of group work and hands-on work following directions and completing tasks with a partner. The students will not only have to be creative and come up with their own traits, but they need to work with a partner to agree on their final decisions. The advanced students will be very creative and come up with a complex code of alleles, while the average students will stick with the basic traits that have already been covered in class. The purpose of this lesson is to allow the students the freedom of coming up with a character on their own and applying it to what we have been learning about genetics. There will be a detailed step by step guide given out, which will aide some groups more then others. This guide will walk them through the procedure just like a science lab. The lesson will be timed and they will have a certain amount of time to create their alleles before they switch character bags and move on to the next process. They will need to be efficient with their work and come up with a complete product for both parts.
Objectives:
1. Students will be able to demonstrate the difference between mitosis and meiosis.
2. Students will be able to demonstrate the process of meiosis using the alleles created by their classmates.
3. Students will create a character out of their original shapes.
4. Students will create a character by cross two others in the process of meiosis.
Students approaching proficiency:
Students will be grouped in pairs and will work together to decide the traits that their character will have. The process of meiosis will be demonstrated as a class and everyone will do this part together so that everyone will have a firm grasp on this concept. The handout will guide the students so that they will know what they are expected to do.
Students exceeding proficiency:
This activity includes a great deal of creative freedom. They are able to come up with their own unique traits for their characters and make up their own letter codes, etc. Students will be able to apply their creativity to what they are learning. Instructional Procedures: Opening/ Engagement/Closure:
Opening:
1. Journal Prompt on the board. List the steps to Mitosis. This should be an activation of prior knowledge from previous lessons as well as a review of the important concept.
2. Review Mitosis as a class. Write all steps on the board and have students revise their list so that it is correct.
3. Inform students that we will be learning about Meiosis, which happens in the nucleus of a cell right after mitosis takes place.
Engagement:
1. Students will be in groups of 2 and each group gets two figures. The sheets will have different shapes on it, each group should get a different shape.
Activity Instructions:
The activity will use the worksheet
Step 1: Each group member must make this shape into a character and name it. One group member will create the female for this shape and the other will create the male.
Step 2: Together decide on 4 traits that you will map out for your figures. You can make up anything they want. Ex. One trait for a circle type character can be dominant Long oval body, recessive tiny circle body. Write down the genotype and phenotype for your character. [If dominant, must be heterozygous] You must add distinguishing features to make it a unique character of your choosing.
Demonstrate an example of a pair of genes that are made up for an example character when explaining the direction.
Draw out the two separate alleles for the male and female so the students understand what they will be doing.
Step 3: Each group must put together two pink alleles of the mother and two blue alleles for the father. They must be taped on the back of their character. They also must fill out a SHEET indicating which genes code for which traits.
Step 4: The character needs to be labeled with the sex of the figure as well as the alleles taped on the back with four traits. Once this is complete, they raise their hands to be checked and then they put their alleles and the picture into a brown paper bag.
Step 5: Bags are collected and re-distributed.
Step 6: When they receive their bag, they empty the contents and remove the alleles from the back of the character. They must line up the alleles on their desk.
As a class, the process of Meiosis will occur according to the demonstration on the board. Perform the splitting of the alleles and pairing of the male and female alleles.
Step 7: Cells start as they are at the end of Mitosis when they receive the bag.
Step 8: Alleles are removed from the cell and will be split into sex cells.
Step 9: Sex cells are put back into bag and one student from group picks out one egg cell and one sperm cell. They take the alleles from these cells and put them into an “offpring cell.”
Step 10: Now the group draws the offspring based on the sex cells that they picked out the bag. They use the gene code to draw the offspring based on the letters put together from the two alleles. They should have one figure as their final product.
Closure:
1. Each group will have an offspring made from the trait code from another group in the class.
2. How did the offspring look compared to the original character that was given to the first group?
3. How is Meiosis different from Mitosis?
Assessment:
1. Students will turn in a worksheet for their trait codes as well as a worksheet with the offspring that they created from their classmate’s code. These worksheets will be counted as classwork grades.
2. Students will be formatively assessed on participation and creativity during the lesson.
You Choose Your Traits
GSEs:
LS4 (7-8)-11 Students demonstrate an understanding of human heredity by
11a- recognizing that characteristics of an organism result from inherited traits of one or more genes from the parents and others results from interactions with the environment.
11c- identifying that genetic material (i.e. chromosomes and genes) is located in the cell's nucleus.
Context for the Lesson:
The students will have previously gone through the process of mitosis and this lesson will build on that prior knowledge. They will be able to physically see the alleles that make up the chromosome for the male and female cells from the end of mitosis and compare these with the sex cells that are the result of meiosis. The main difference is the fact that the sex cells have ½ the number of chromosomes as the original cell for both the female egg and the male sperm. This lesson will be the introduction to the concept of an allele and will reinforce the concepts of homozygous and heterozygous, dominant and recessive genes. This lesson will take a full 90 minute class period.
Opportunities to Learn:
The desks will be arranged in pairs for this lesson. The pairs will be pre-assigned and heterogeneously grouped.
Materials
-worksheet-
-paper bags
-allele cutouts
-art supplies
Differentiated instruction
This lesson involved a great deal of group work and hands-on work following directions and completing tasks with a partner. The students will not only have to be creative and come up with their own traits, but they need to work with a partner to agree on their final decisions. The advanced students will be very creative and come up with a complex code of alleles, while the average students will stick with the basic traits that have already been covered in class. The purpose of this lesson is to allow the students the freedom of coming up with a character on their own and applying it to what we have been learning about genetics. There will be a detailed step by step guide given out, which will aide some groups more then others. This guide will walk them through the procedure just like a science lab. The lesson will be timed and they will have a certain amount of time to create their alleles before they switch character bags and move on to the next process. They will need to be efficient with their work and come up with a complete product for both parts.
Objectives:
1. Students will be able to demonstrate the difference between mitosis and meiosis.
2. Students will be able to demonstrate the process of meiosis using the alleles created by their classmates.
3. Students will create a character out of their original shapes.
4. Students will create a character by cross two others in the process of meiosis.
Students approaching proficiency:
Students will be grouped in pairs and will work together to decide the traits that their character will have. The process of meiosis will be demonstrated as a class and everyone will do this part together so that everyone will have a firm grasp on this concept. The handout will guide the students so that they will know what they are expected to do.
Students exceeding proficiency:
This activity includes a great deal of creative freedom. They are able to come up with their own unique traits for their characters and make up their own letter codes, etc. Students will be able to apply their creativity to what they are learning.
Instructional Procedures: Opening/ Engagement/Closure:
Opening:
1. Journal Prompt on the board. List the steps to Mitosis. This should be an activation of prior knowledge from previous lessons as well as a review of the important concept.
2. Review Mitosis as a class. Write all steps on the board and have students revise their list so that it is correct.
3. Inform students that we will be learning about Meiosis, which happens in the nucleus of a cell right after mitosis takes place.
Engagement:
1. Students will be in groups of 2 and each group gets two figures. The sheets will have different shapes on it, each group should get a different shape.
Activity Instructions:
The activity will use the worksheet
Step 1: Each group member must make this shape into a character and name it. One group member will create the female for this shape and the other will create the male.
Step 2: Together decide on 4 traits that you will map out for your figures. You can make up anything they want. Ex. One trait for a circle type character can be dominant Long oval body, recessive tiny circle body. Write down the genotype and phenotype for your character. [If dominant, must be heterozygous] You must add distinguishing features to make it a unique character of your choosing.
Demonstrate an example of a pair of genes that are made up for an example character when explaining the direction.
Draw out the two separate alleles for the male and female so the students understand what they will be doing.
Step 3: Each group must put together two pink alleles of the mother and two blue alleles for the father. They must be taped on the back of their character. They also must fill out a SHEET indicating which genes code for which traits.
Step 4: The character needs to be labeled with the sex of the figure as well as the alleles taped on the back with four traits. Once this is complete, they raise their hands to be checked and then they put their alleles and the picture into a brown paper bag.
Step 5: Bags are collected and re-distributed.
Step 6: When they receive their bag, they empty the contents and remove the alleles from the back of the character. They must line up the alleles on their desk.
As a class, the process of Meiosis will occur according to the demonstration on the board. Perform the splitting of the alleles and pairing of the male and female alleles.
Step 7: Cells start as they are at the end of Mitosis when they receive the bag.
Step 8: Alleles are removed from the cell and will be split into sex cells.
Step 9: Sex cells are put back into bag and one student from group picks out one egg cell and one sperm cell. They take the alleles from these cells and put them into an “offpring cell.”
Step 10: Now the group draws the offspring based on the sex cells that they picked out the bag. They use the gene code to draw the offspring based on the letters put together from the two alleles. They should have one figure as their final product.
Closure:
1. Each group will have an offspring made from the trait code from another group in the class.
2. How did the offspring look compared to the original character that was given to the first group?
3. How is Meiosis different from Mitosis?
Assessment:
1. Students will turn in a worksheet for their trait codes as well as a worksheet with the offspring that they created from their classmate’s code. These worksheets will be counted as classwork grades.
2. Students will be formatively assessed on participation and creativity during the lesson.